With distressed homes accounting for a smaller proportion of sales nationwide, median prices for existing homes were up from a year ago in nearly two-thirds of the 155 metro markets tracked by the National Association of Realtors during the second quarter.

Distressed homes accounted for 32 percent of sales, down from 36 percent a year ago, helping push the national median home price up 1.5 percent from a year ago, to $176,900, NAR said.

Sales volume of existing single-family homes and condos increased 9.1 percent from the first quarter, to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 5.61 million. That’s a 17.3 percent increase from the 4.78 million-unit pace during the second quarter of 2009.